The supply chain shortage has not seen any relief in 2021, particularly when it entered the third-quarter traditional electronic peak season. Market demand has increased, but overall production capacity has not.
Speculation has been circulating in the chipmaking market that AMD and MediaTek are in talks to form a joint venture that will be dedicated to developing SoC solutions combining Wi-Fi, 5G and high transmission technologies for notebook applications.
Chip shortages have undermined shipments to the notebook market. The top-5 notebook vendors saw their combined shipments drop 3% sequentially in August, according to the latest figures from DIGITIMES Research. Acer chairman Jason Chen has disclosed Chromebook demand has shifted from 11.6-inch models to 15-inch ones to meet needs from high school and college students. In the memory sector, DRAM contract prices will drop faster than previously expected in fourth-quarter 2021, as demand from PC OEMs decelerates.
Chromebooks with 14- to 15-inch displays are currently having the worst shortages as orders from the education segment are shifting from the elementary to middle school levels - which are commonly using 11.6-inch models for their study-from-home needs - to high school and college levels, according to Acer chairman and CEO Jason Chen.
The impact of chip shortages that are in varying degrees had a negative impact on the overall notebooks shipped by the world's top-5 notebook brands (excluding Apple) in August, which saw a 3% sequential drop, according to Digitimes Research.
Head-up displays (HUD), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and on-board computers are the three main axes of E-lead Electronic, according to company vice president Rofic Ko.
India has finally released the long-awaited PLI for automotive, while a unicorn e-scooter maker has announced 100% female participation in its gigafactory.
PC shipments in India hit a five-year high in the second quarter, rising 43% on year to 4.097 million units, partially because of the low base period in 2020, according to a PC market survey conducted by Canalys.
Component suppliers and assemblers have already kicked off shipments for Apple's new-generation AirPods, but the overall deliveries are proceeding slowly, according to industry sources.
Developed by Google and Reliance Industries, JioPhone Next's launch has been postponed to November. Although there is a variety of factors behind the delay, the reality has proven more dire than Reliance has expected amid component shortages.
External circumstances and changing industry demands have continued to impact various industry chains since the second half of 2020. For IPC companies, the consensus in 2021 is that they can only produce as many products as there are materials.
Notebook ODMs will likely see their shipments register on-year decreases in the fourth quarter, due to a pretty high base during the same period in 2020, according to industry sources.
The US-China trade tensions are driving US chip vendors away from Chinese foundry houses, which neveretheless still see strong demand from the domestic market. China's top foundry house SMIC is gearing up expansion of its mature process manufacturing capacity. US-based notebook vendors remain optimistic about demand from the enterprise segment in 2022, as they step up component purchses.
The substantial increase in the number of quantum bits, also called qubits, and structural dimensions of logic gates have made the fidelity and connectivity of qubits highly critical.
US notebook vendors have stepped up their pace of chip orders, demanding more available supplies for the fourth quarter and next year, according to industry sources.
Government-developed Hsinchu Science Park (HSP), Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) and Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) generated combined revenues of NT$1,712.828 billion (US$61.28 billion) in first-half 2021, growing 25.20% on year, according to Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
COVID has propelled the application of AI in remote healthcare and demand for smart healthcare equipment is gradually picking up, according to a recent analysis by Deloitte.
Major NAND flash chip suppliers are poised to ramp up their output for QLC (quad-level cell) NAND chips between the end of this year and 2022, eyeing robust demand for not only PCs but also datacenter applications, according to industry sources.
Forth Corporation, formerly known as Genius Communication System, was established in 1989 and headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand with an initial registered capital of THB1 million (US$30,300).
COVID remains in effect to forcibly diminish production of car parts and electronics. Realme remains the most popular smartphone brand in the Philippines. Indonesia is opening two new economic zones to accelerate development of tech and digital economy.
Quanta Computer shipped a total of 5.5 million notebooks in August, down 6.8% sequentially, while fellow company Compal Electronics saw its notebook shipments dip 4.1% on month to 4.7 million units.
EMS provider Lite-On Technology has reported consolidated revenues of NT$13.543 billion (US$485 million) for August, decreasing 1.21% on month but inching up 0.65% on year.
